|
|
According
to the Urban Institute,
almost one-fourth of children and youth are either immigrants
themselves or
children of immigrants. The
numbers vary
but by almost all accounts, there are over one million undocumented
children in
the United
States.
A large
percentage of these children
have no opportunity to change their status under the current
immigration laws
of the United States.
Others are awaiting a visa number to become available, a process which,
depending upon the category of application, can take well over a
decade, by
which time the child may have “aged-out”. Fortunately, there are provisions in the Immigration
and Nationality Act
(INA) aimed at providing routes to legal permanent residence for
certain
classes of undocumented children. A
child who has been abused, neglected, or abandoned and whose long-term
foster
care can be arranged through state custody may become eligible for
permanent
residence as a “special immigrant.” Children
subject to abuse and trafficking may seek benefits under VAWA or seek T
and U
status. Those
working in the court
systems are in a unique position to identify and assist undocumented
minors
eligible for these forms of relief.
Additionally,
all parties involved in
juvenile delinquency adjudications should be aware that juvenile
adjudications
differ in significant ways from adult criminal convictions for
immigration
purposes. Where a
non-citizen child is
charged with delinquent conduct, all parties should fully investigate
the
potential immigration consequences to the non-citizen child arising
from such
proceedings.
|